


Sometimes I Get The Feeling He's Watching Over Me

by baudelamps



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Damien doing dad things, Lucien being a Teen, anyway Lucien's a good boy doing his best and i'll fight anyone who says otherwise, maybe eventually i'll do the other Damien Dates? who can say what the future holds., this has been sitting untouched in my OneNote since July so i figured i should probably post it, wholesome father-and-son bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 21:39:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13726497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baudelamps/pseuds/baudelamps
Summary: Damien Date 1 as experienced by the Bloodmarch household.[Content note: minor reference to "we'll build a wall and make them pay for it" and America's broken education system]





	Sometimes I Get The Feeling He's Watching Over Me

"Lucien!" Damien shouted.

Lucien turned up the volume on his music so he could conceivably not have heard his father, and kept typing.

"Lucien!!!!!!"

"WHAT," Lucien shouted.

"Will you come to the library for a moment, please?"

"I'm busy!"

"LUCIEN!!!!!!!!!!!"

"FINE" Lucien screamed. He slammed his laptop, and the music clicked off.

Damien was sitting at a handcrafted reproduction mahogany writing desk, staring over steepled fingers at the screen of his laptop. He had planned on going to the shelter this morning, and was wearing what Lucien persisted in calling his nerd gear.

"School's not for another half hour, you know that, right?" Lucien said. "Like, I'm not late or anything."

"I have a guest who will be here shortly. I need your help getting ready." 

"Who is it?" Lucien asked. Damien took a deep breath.

"David Jones."

"Oh. Amanda's parent," said Lucien.

"Yes. Her father." Damien stood up and closed his laptop. He slid it into a discreet drawer in the woodwork and pushed in his chair.

Lucien yawned. "So what do you need me for? I was writing."

"I hate to interrupt you at your craft, but everything needs to be perfect," Damien said. "You are more in touch with the common man than I am. I would appreciate your assistance in choosing an outfit."

"Why's it such a big deal?"

"I'm afraid I made myself out to be something of a heel at our first encounter. I have a chance to redeem myself. Such opportunities are rare."

"Oh. You mean when he saw you flip out at the cashier at Dead, Goth, and Beyond?" Lucien asked.

Damien pursed his lips. "Yes."

"Because I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Lucien said. Damien sighed. "You do know you're not the only one in this family who shops there, right?"

"Lucien, please. We have a short time before your bus comes, and there are other gothic and goth-adjacent retailers in the area."

"But Dad, you blow your top, like, half the time you're in there," Lucien said, following Damien out of the library. "It took us four years to reach the top rewards tier. If you compromise that, who's gonna be responsible for giving me 10% back on all my purchases?"

"As long as they continue producing unacceptable merchandise, I cannot promise that it won't happen again, but I will make an effort to present myself better in the future." Lucien rolled his eyes, and Damien sighed. "On the chance that Dead, Goth, and Beyond, should ban our patronage, I will get you a voucher for Spencer's Gifts."

Lucien considered this. "Fine." He followed Damien into his bedroom. "So, what exactly did you need my help with?"

"I can never tell how far to go with new people. Is the green waistcoat with the gold embroidered accents too much?"

"I dunno. What are your plans?"

Damien opened the Dadbook app on his phone and passed it to Lucien.

"Here. Read our correspondence. I need to makeup my face."

"Sure." Lucien scrolled through the messages, and Damien began to apply his foundation. "Holy crap, Dad," Lucien said. "This is really extra."

"Was I too forward? I must admit, I do find him attractive," Damien said, hastily brushing on his eye shadow.

"No, it's not even that, it's just, like, dial it back a little."

"In what sense?"

Lucien rolled his eyes. "Well, you're into this dude, right?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that, but I would certainly like to know him better."

"So yes, you're into him. And based on how he called you dude twice, he's probably pretty chill. Do you want him to like you?" 

"Lucien, please-" Damien began. 

"It's fine, you can say that you want him to like you. You can admit it." He paused, but Lucien didn't respond. "The thing is, you don't even know how he's gonna take all the Victorian stuff. You gotta ease him into it. Then, when you can tell that he's, you know, into it, you can start toning it back up."

"My dear boy, it is vital in these affairs to start as you mean to continue," Damien said. He took out his hair tie and brushed his locks.

"Dad, you started with a blowup in the shopping mall. You gotta compensate for that. Let him know you're at least somewhat capable of chilling out."

Damien took a deep breath. "I see your point," he said. "Do you recommend the contact lenses, then?"

"Obviously," Lucien said, rolling his eyes. "They make the look. The bus is gonna be here in five minutes, I gotta run. Have fun on your date." He left the bedroom.

"It's not a date, Lucien," Damien called after him.

"Yes it is, Dad," Lucien shouted. He shoved his laptop into his book bag, and headed out the door.

"Wait! I still don't know what to wear!"

"Blue waistcoat, the cloak with the red trim, shirt with ruffles on it. Classic, but not over the top."

"Thank you! Have a good day at school, son!" Damien called. He heard the door slam.

~~~

Lucien only spent four hours at school that day. 20 minutes of that was spent in the basement, trying to build a wall around Ernest Vega. 

"Yeah, you'll build a wall and make him pay for it, right?" one of Lucien's buddies joked. 

"Fuck you, Jason, that's not funny," Lucien had responded.

When they got home, he barricaded himself in his room until he heard his dad call him to dinner. 

"So, I take it your date went well," Lucien said as he loped into the dining room. "I thought it would be over by the time fifth period rolled around. I hope I didn't interrupt anything steamy."

"Lucien, why did you attempt to trap Ernest Vega behind a brick wall?"

Lucien shrugged. "I wanted to engage with the literature."

"I certainly admire your devotion to the classics," Damien responded dryly. "We're having paninis for dinner."

"Cool." He built his sandwich, and Damien crushed it in the grill press. 

After a few silent minutes, Damien cleared his throat, and took his their sandwiches out of the press. "Lucien, I'm afraid that I cannot bring myself to be lenient this time. Your stunts are growing progressively more elaborate. I'm worried about what may come after this one."

"Oh, come on, Dad, it's not that big a deal," Lucien said, dropping into his chair. He had intended to launch into a tirade about the ineffective structure of the public school system and the arbitrary standards by which students are judged, but Damien cut back in before he got the chance.

"I just don't understand why you did it. Did it make you feel fulfilled in some way?"

"I dunno." Lucien looked down and shrugged. "It was a good laugh, I guess. Got me out of school for a week."

"Was it worth it?"

"I dunno."

Damien waited for Lucien to continue, but he didn't. "Son, you know I love you."

"I know, Dad," Lucien replied. He looked at his sandwich. "It was a stupid thing to do. I'm trying to be better, but…" he sighed. "They already have me pegged as a screw-up. Normally I don't care what people think. I guess in this case maybe I should."

"I’d never advise you to change yourself to appease others, Lucien. But I must ask you to take your future into account here. You are incredibly intelligent, and I have the utmost faith in your ability to succeed. If you truly do not feel that you can thrive in your current school environment, we can look for alternative options, but if you still want to go to the technical school, you need to get your diploma. If you continue to act without regard for consequence, I fear that this may not happen."

Lucien shrugged. "Yeah. I'll think about it." Damien waited for him to continue, and the silence pressed on Lucien like a weight. "I just, don't really know what I want right now," he said.

"If you ever need help deciding, I'm here for you, son."

"Thanks, Dad."

"And Lucien, I know how much you love Poe, but if you really feel that this is the best way to engage with literature, please skip over The Telltale Heart." Damien stood up and got himself a glass of water. Lucien smiled.

"Sure thing, Dad. I'll keep that in mind."

"I have been accused of having mad eyes," Damien said. "I'd hate to end up under a floorboard."

"I think that I'm going to stick to modern literature for a while."

"Oh? Any writers in particular?"

Lucien shrugged, and immediately regretted bringing it up. "Just, like, independent writers," he said. "You know, people who self-publish online. Stuff like that."

"Ah. You're referring to blogs, yes?"

Lucien shrugged. "Yeah, stuff like that, but there are also websites where you can make an account and post work and tag it with keywords so people can find it. Some of it isn't very good, but if you're invested enough in the characters, it's easy to look past bad writing."

"You'll have to show me any notable works you come across," Damien said.

"Sure thing, Dad," Lucien said, knowing fully that he never would. "Hey, how was your date today? Up until I ruined it, I mean."

"It went very well, I believe." Damien sipped his water. "I showed Mr. Jones the house and grounds. He seemed very impressed by the gardens, I must say."

"That's good."

"He did make a reference that I wanted to ask you to clarify. Something about going into the city to see a marching band?" Lucien almost choked on his soda, and Damien's brow furrowed. "What? Is it bad?" 

"No," Lucien replied, wiping his mouth. "I just wasn't expecting that. It's from a song. I can send you the youtube video if you want, but you should ask him to play it for you or something. You know, settle in for an evening of music and wine or something." 

"That's certainly a suggestion worth considering," Damien said. He sipped his water.

"How'd he take everything? The whole goth thing, I mean," Lucien asked. Damien thoughtfully chewed his panini. 

"Honestly, he seemed impressed," he said. "He asked a lot of questions and seemed genuinely interested."

"Okay, but you said the same thing about Mr. Small down the street, and he thinks you're off your nut," Lucien responded.

"Mr. Small down the street is notoriously difficult to read, and he and I have gotten along much better in recent times than we did at our first acquaintance."

"Yeah, like a house on fire," Lucien snorted.

"Be that as it may, I have high hopes for where Mr. Jones and I might take our relationship."

Lucien sighed. "That's good, Dad. Just, be careful, will you? I don't want to see you get hurt."

Damien blinked. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. "I appreciate your concern, son. Thank you."

"When do you think you'll see him again?" Lucien asked.

"I'm not sure."

"You didn't close with 'same time next week' or something?"

"Given the circumstances," Damien began, but Lucien coughed.

"Right, right," he said. "Sorry."

"I was thinking of sending him a note tomorrow. Nothing dramatic. A minor token to let him know that I enjoyed our time together."

"Cool," said Lucien. "You sure you don't want to just, like, text him?"

"Of course not! That's so impersonal, Lucien, really. This is a man I'm interested in spending time with! Why would I keep him at arm's length? Are you done with your plate?"

Lucien put the rest of his panini in his mouth and talked around it. "I got it." He brought the plates to the sink so he could wash them. "Just don't come on too strong, Dad. You don't want to scare him off."

"I don't need reminding," said Damien. "You always assume I'm incapable of being casual. Why is that?"

Lucien let the sink fill with water and started to scrub. "Good question, Dad," he said, trying not to laugh.


End file.
